Tons and tons of great information and really gets the reef tank keepers into thinking outside the box. Thank you, awesome tank and unbelievable clam. Keep the personal videos coming.
I used to work at Tropic Seas on Colfax ave back in the day .I remember when Ron Myer was working out how to put the best Wet Dry together , glad to see the Hobby is alive and well in the Mile in the Mile High City. Fixing to upgrade my little 38 nano reef tank up to a 90 gallon reef ready tank, you've given me some excellent idea...Thanks!
You know how hard it is to find some to break down the process the way you did thanks bro this will be my recommend vid on my channel keep up the good work luv your channel this helps soooo many reefers
Thank you for this video Scott, it really puts into perspective on how a water change actually benefits our tank (I thought it'd do more...). I watched your video and BRS' on the Triton method back-to-back and both of your videos really encourage me be lazy, lol!
Oh the good'ol days of watching newyorkstello. One of the main channels that got me started in the hobby. Sure do miss his channel and he would be a great additon to the current reefing community
Awesome water change video, the focus on water changing to fix every issue is often misplaced and is not a sign that tanks are being neglected otherwise. We need to use all the tools available to "baby" our water and understand the chemistry going on. Great video!!
I've watched a few of your videos, and I just want to say thank you for sharing your great knowledge with the world and with the detail that is often not found with other sources. You do a great job. And remember, 99.9% of people with negative comments or vocal critisms have no idea what they're talking about!
Yea we Marine users really don't appreciate fresh water people chiming in on our turf. So if you don't mind could you show your self out the back door. Thanks.
I have did an experiment years ago on my last reef tank (I have moved but will set one up again after I move) with my own natural method and ran it for 10 years successfully then the last before I moved I finally lost some fish and corals all but just before the 10 year was the blue hippo tang (I had like 15 originally of them) and the Red Sea purple tang with the yellow tail. I had all sorts of fish at any time 50-70 fish in a 125 gallon tank :) and corals a lot of them :) I didn't do water changes other than adding water to replace the water that would be evaporated :) The key is hundreds of pounds of show pieces of live rock and high volume flow from my two very high volume IWAKI pump, high light, and had a UV sterilizer on it too :) but no skimmer in the pump a miracle mud mixed with an off brand miracle mud with aragonite too and live rocks too on top of that in the sump
great video - thanks - loads of practical info about water chemistry. And I think you are right - the goal is to get the water and ecosystem balanced and self-maintaining without water changes
I looooooove this video. It’s true with my experience as well. I almost never do water changes. I have the same, full bucket of salt now for about 2 years considering the fact that I have a 55 gallon tank. Compared to a few years ago when I did water changes weekly, using up my bucket in a year. Great video. ❤️❤️👍🏼
This is a great video. I have a 10 gallon nano and I noticed my corals and fish hate when I do water changes. My corals love dirty water. SO I only do a water change every 2 weeks or 3.
Very good video! I have had several birdnest die offs while using bio pellets. I never associated the addition of new pellets with it, but looking back I feel that may be the answer :)
I don’t think you’re crazy. I totally agree with you. My fish look amazing on my 135 gal reef fish only saltwater tank. I haven’t done a water changer in over five years. Big oversized sump protein Skimmer and top off. All I do is add supplements and fill the top off that’s it. Also it’s good to not over feed a lot of folks tend to do that. Thumbs up and Cheers from California!
Jason McClough I reef the same way (sump less). No water changes system makes sense to me although I'm not quite there yet. What carbon dosing method r u using? I'm dosing NOPOX by Red Sea. Moreover, r u keeping sps?
This guy is the truth I been doing this for over 20 yrs an what he said works . It’s just the same thing I do . Keep it simple an don’t over do nothing . As natural as it can be 👍
EXCELLENT ADVISE!!! Right on point for those who have large SW aquarium! I finally find someone who does exactly what I do!. Never do water changes (except to fill my quarantine tank), keep values, treat the water, dose it! I must ONLY ADD that once a month (I try) I clean the sand, stir it, suck the detritus w/water into an exterior container, let it sit for a while, and pump back the water over a strainer that has a filters and voila! ...DON"T DO WATER CHANGES!!!
Hi Mike subbed to your channel...great info...and yes like you i was one of the reefer who watched newyorksteelo's videos all the time...hope he comes back to the hobby again..
i'm new salt water hobbyist i jumped in the game feb 2017 . learned a lot today i never new much about . I have tiny tank 75 gallon compared to your its tiny . learned alot in 10 months few bumps managed to only lose 2 fish 1 cyno out break and the fish i lost one decided it be awesome to swim upstream in my out put water flow .. i had the 75 gallon tank resting in my basement 15 years i had given up freshwater fish never got rid of the tank . any way I LIKE THE TURF Scrubber will research it more i waited 3 month to add my first fish now only have about 12 clown Gobi green ,citron ,tang variety of harptails and the elusive lawn mower goby any how hoping to start corals after the first of the year Tidal Gardens is local to me i could litterly throw rock at his place i'm that close . he seems to get rave reviews .Awesome video chalk full of tips loved it you rock
As usual great video Scott crammed with a lot of awesome information. I would love to send mine to Triton as well to get a complete water analysis. I missed your little guy doing his outro...lol
The little guy was in school when I made this video. He loves to be on the show. We have a company in Denver that does ICP testing, I need to get over there and check them out.
I really appreciate the video. I am researching a 400 gallon see through when you walk in our house near the dinning room and know I won't be doing 60 gallon trash can water changes regularly. I will be on a massive budget doing it and will be going with a high quality tank1,000-1500$, skimmer450$, mp40's with backup 800$, solatube natural lighting 600$, and the rest DIY like oyster diy rock, natural local sand, I have access to collecting local macroalgae luckily but really liked your video and the insight on keeping water quality in check. Things have changed alot from the 2000 era and I really like the idea of having a set of quality carbon and calcium reactors that are DIY. Dosing via peristalic pumps seem to be legit as well. Being in Florida I have considered a carribean tank as we surf and snorkel a lot not to mention have access to things like seahorses, pinktail trigger, pipefish etc, live bait shrimp, etc. All told I will be into it for around 10k which is really a fret considering the size and 550 gallon capacity. I just wanted to share some ideas and you've got me thinking about raceways and how to capitilze on a working refugium and limiting stoney coral to those that take less calcium and alkalinity thus making it easier. I wanted to write this to anybody considering a large DIY tank without breaking the bank or having the misses kick you out. Nice work on the four clownish in tank and killer clam, that thing is stunning.
Maria Edwards don't collect fish from the wild it's really had for the environment and the fishll die when u put em in the tank anyways cuz they might carry diseases and pathogens from the ocean and not adapt as well to tank living this is why everybody is getting captive bred fish this goes especially for seahorses seahorses, cardinals are the worst fish to collect from the wild they won't adapt and when u put em in they'll get stressed and will suffer from disease and die most epic the time and just waste away end of story don't collect fish from the wild
I have a 90gal SW with a 40gal sump. And I do a 15gal water change about every two weeks. But what helps me with keeping everything stable is purchasing good salt and fresh water from my LFS. In addition, I have about 5 lbs of ceramic media bio balls in the sump along with a skimmer. I also converted a canister filter into a media reactor.
agree on your points. im starting on a carbon dosing routine myself. water changes are to pricey for me as well its only a 180 plus the sump/fuge. thinking small w/c weekly maybe 2% (about 5 gallons). kicking my fuge up a bit with a better light. and carbon dose. of course ive got the skimmer going. and will be dosing a small amount of kalk in form of a dripper. just got to get those nitrates down. maybe down the road put a small turf scrubber on it if needed. keep up the great videos
I’m doing something similar. 50 gallon tank. Live rock with sand bead . 30 gallon sump with refugium. With two blocks of Marin pure. 1 gallon of Marin pure balls. And dosing. So far I’m 2 months with no water changes and coral is doing better now than before. I think the point of you saying when water changes are done it does a quick change to the water that affect the coral is true. Thanks for video.
I love my Natureef inspired Methanol Denitrator! Much less maintenance than Bio Pellets, and turf scrubbers. I have too many fish and feed 3x a day, and dialed in my Nitrates at 2.5. A very unknown method to many still. I have ran mine for 14 years. I went 6 years with 0 water changes, but now do 1 gal a day with my DOS AWC for the "unknowns", and my SPS are a little happier.
@@MileHighReefers hey man finally got a video up. If you remember I'm here in Colorado also. Would like to get a better video with your cameras and such. Here is just a little something of it now it's only been set up for a year. ruclips.net/video/mokQ4ohI0VQ/видео.html
I have never NEEDED to do a water change. About twice a year, I change the scenery around and that could qualify as a 50% water change. Never been a problem if you have a decent biofilter system
current research shows a waterfall style algal mat scrubber does not need to be nearly as big as everyone thinks it needs to be. The old rule of thumb was 2 square inches of mat for every gallon of tank water. Now, its rated with the amount of food you feed into the tank. I have been using them for over 6 years on 2 120 gallon tanks with zero ppm nitrates...each mat is 1 sq. foot, lit on both sides, and was made out of 1" pvc pipe coming directly from the overflows...down into the sump, and then returned. i use carbon to clear the water, and i harvest the algae once a week. NO algae in the actual tank...ever!!!
For my 90 gallon reef, I’m only using the Nynos 160 protein skimmer along with a Bio Pellet reactor, which my tank is super healthy. I only add daily top off water and that’s it.
Very clean, how often do you clean that glass? Cant you add a dosing pump as well as the carbon reactor.? Also what are you dosing for the micro nutrients? Thanks for break down very informative.
Great video Scott. You covered it all. I recently transitioned off of Carbon dosing and am currently running Santa Monica Turf scrubbers in both of my tanks. Working Fantastic! You going with Kalk a bigger Ca Reactor or dosing to keep up with your alk drop????
Right now I have the PH turned down to 6.3 and a high drip rate and my ALK is holding 8.7. Fingers crossed this will be enough to get me where I want to be.
Great video Scott, I’m in the process of doing up a video on my tank. I’m doing fine with alkalinity calcium and magnesium but struggle with nitrates lol
I'm about to start my first reef tank. It's the new fluval sea flex 32.5 gallon tank and I was wondering how I'd connect a turf scrubber to it? Would I have to pump water out and then back into it?
Loved the vid. But my question is what about salinity? My tanks evaporate so fast by the time a week comes around I’ve added at least a quarter to half the tank of RO. So my salinity drops. Any ideas or answers would be useful. I’m still trying to figure the whole saltwater elements and stuff out. How to keep them in check and also the best ways to keep my tank stable and what filtration to exactly use.
Quick question: in my 55 gallon system with little to no corals and 1 fish, that is currently running on 1.3 mls of vodka per day and sitting at 20ish nitrates which has been lower since the start of the dosing. Should I do massive water changes to get my nitrates down? Would that be something considered sensible?
I used an AquariPure denitrator (vodka dosing). Worked awesome. Almost undetectable levels of nitrates, and that 60g tank was LOADED with fish and corals. Never did a water change in 2 years then I moved and had to sell the whole lot.
I also gave up doing water changes 6 months ago and my sps and soft corals are doing well in my 100g. I don't do RODI just filtrate the water with a carbon filter during 2h before i do my 6g water change every 2 months. I run a phos reactor and full of live rocks in my sump
Hi Scott...the Triton method is a system designed around the no water change needed concept...not just ICP testing...it is a complete and effective system...give it a complete look ...love your tank as always..
The only time I do water changes in any of my tanks is the once a year I typically redo the inside of the tank to whatever theme I think will look good. It’s mostly just top offs
How do you deal with the rising TDS? Or have you found it does no harm? I know it's just a number... but a reading of 1000 means there's 1000 of something in there. 3 months without water changes, my tank went from 140 to 300. Just curious. I would love to do no water changes. My shrimp almost die every time I do one.
Great video. just wanted to add that a refugium will be a huge positive effect for zooplantkon which will be awesome food for Fish and corals. I personally will go with a refugium and alcohol for my next tank. But there won't be that many fish in it anyway.
i have a 32g biocube mixed reef. i haven't done a water change in that tank yet at all. its been up for about 16 months. i have a 16 gallon sump, small small skimmer, a gfo reactor, 25 lbs of sand, 35 lbs of rock, a handfull of bioballs, a small fuge with cheato and pods, dose calcium and alk, an auto top off and a clean up crew. now, its been doing great. but, recently, i hadnt removed some bubble algae that i saw in a small colony, instead, i decided id add 2 emerald crabs. well, a week later when i returned home, i had an infestation of bubble algae. so needless to say, ill probably just save up a bit and buy a new reefer 250 delux and transfer the coral and fish over without the rocks. or sand. kind of a start over. the 32g was cool. but im out of room for anything to grow out. and now this bubble algae bloom.....
Great video - I have a comment. I have been using bio pellets for about 2 years now. My nitrates and phosphates are undetectable - I don't do water changes either, why should I? Here's my comment: (and a little about my system so my comment makes sense) I have a 180 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump and my protein skimmer (reef octopus 200) is rated for 400 gallons (200 if you are over stocked which I am). My protein skimmer hardly skims anything out of my water though. I could turn it off but I like the fact that it oxygenates the water. (Don't need it is what I am saying - read on) I have 100 micron filter socks for each corner flow ( 2 of them) they each have their own sock. I change the filter socks every day. I also use a waste away bacteria weekly (keeps my water crystal clear and breaks down waste). No nitrates or phosphates (undetectable) and I'm over stocked and I over feed - because it's fun lol! My point is I don't think a protein skimmer is necessary.....WHAT?....Everyone says you have to have a protein skimmer to carbon dose and remove nitrates, but my giant protein skimmer has nothing to do. The bacteria I use and the 100 micron filter socks do all the work. My protein skimmer I'd argue is only oxygenating my water. I should add that I have 100lbs of live rock, and a sand bed (it's not deep tho I tried that and wasn't thrilled) and I use bio pellets (lots of them tho - my reactor is filled to the top and I have a large reactor. I put an entire jar of bio pellets in there and I buy the large jar) So, we are different in that aspect. I believe my filter socks solve my slough off issue from the pellets. My pellet reactor return goes to one one of my filter socks stopping the gunk from going into my tank. All I am saying is that I have a system that a protein skimmer isn't necessary and I have a skimmer that runs 24/7 and doesn't do anything to prove it. My nitrate and phosphate levels speak for themselves and I think I am about to turn the tables on the protein skimmer belief. Live rock, bacteria to dissolve waste, bio pellets (carbon dosing), filter socks changed daily - NO PROTEIN SKIMMER NECESSARY. Could this be? Am I about to be told it isn't possible? Lol - it is. Trust me I am doing it. No water changes for over a year and a protein skimmer that doesn't have anything to do. I don't want to encourage people that cant afford a protein skimmer (a good one) to get into this hobby because if you don't have an extra 1k lying around this isn't a hobby for you, but I am saying it is possible to have a system where a protein skimmer (using bio pellets) isn't necessary. I've had my aquarium for 12 years now (time to upgrade) and it wasn't until the last 2 years that I advanced to "advanced" from intermediate. I will never consider myself an expert - I am always learning. I learned something that nobody else has brought up though. I learned it by "it" happening. Have you considered putting your bio pellet return into a filter sock and using a higher dose? Changing your socks every day is important if you do this because they can clog and over flow quickly - hence me changing them daily. Do you use a waste away bacteria? If you start you might see your protein skimmer go on vacation - mine has yet to return lol. My socks are dirty every day too....dirty. I would write a book about it but I just did lol!
Thank you for the advice. Doing water changes every week is difficult to do consistently for my schedule. would a turf scrubber be reasonable for a 55gallon tank?
Meagan Brink yep anything over 200g is expensive and bulky to run turf on refugiums work for u too since 55g isnt big refugiums needing to be sized at 12% minmum of total water vol so a 6.5 gallon refugiums with a AI prime FUGE works perfectly and might be better then turf
I don’t have a calcium reactor so I have to also dose micro and macro elements from time to time and have my water professionally tested to see what is excessive and what is lacking.
Great video. I'm still wondering how the waste and how the system balances itself. Must be the filtration in the rock? But then, how about feeding and phosphates?
Have tried almost everything possible throughout the years and have to agree completely. The less I mess with my tank the better it does.
Why am I watching this? I don't even have an aquarium😂
SpaghettiKillah lmao
😂😂😂😂
Ditto 😂
I got a freshwater aquarium and I still watched it
Lol same
Tons and tons of great information and really gets the reef tank keepers into thinking outside the box. Thank you, awesome tank and unbelievable clam. Keep the personal videos coming.
New York steelo is a legend in my eyes. I wish he’d get his channel going again.
I really like the way you've explained it Scott, thanks great job. Keep up the good work.
I used to work at Tropic Seas on Colfax ave back in the day .I remember when Ron Myer was working out how to put the best Wet Dry together , glad to see the Hobby is alive and well in the Mile in the Mile High City. Fixing to upgrade my little 38 nano reef tank up to a 90 gallon reef ready tank, you've given me some excellent idea...Thanks!
You know how hard it is to find some to break down the process the way you did thanks bro this will be my recommend vid on my channel keep up the good work luv your channel this helps soooo many reefers
Thanks I really appreciate it!
I’m loving the video so far! Thanks for breaking it down seamlessly. I’m really enjoying reefing so far. 9 months in👶🏼😉
New york steelo is one of the original RUclips reefer OG's i miss that dude
Excellent presentation , food for thought i must say !
Thank you for this video Scott, it really puts into perspective on how a water change actually benefits our tank (I thought it'd do more...). I watched your video and BRS' on the Triton method back-to-back and both of your videos really encourage me be lazy, lol!
Your video’s are so helpful! Thank you 🙏
Thank you, yours is the most scientific explanation I’ve heard cycles. The information is very well laid out and described.
Oh the good'ol days of watching newyorkstello. One of the main channels that got me started in the hobby. Sure do miss his channel and he would be a great additon to the current reefing community
I'd love to see NY Stello make videos again. He is still one of my favs.
He was a pretty chill dude.
Dude that tank is freaking beautiful!!!
If only he'd STFU, right?
great video Scott lots of info. Love your channel!
Awesome water change video, the focus on water changing to fix every issue is often misplaced and is not a sign that tanks are being neglected otherwise. We need to use all the tools available to "baby" our water and understand the chemistry going on. Great video!!
Love your work Scott! Great Vid!!!!!
As allways, GREAT vid and tanks looking great. Cheers Scott !
Thanks!
this video was very informative, thanks scott!!
I've watched a few of your videos, and I just want to say thank you for sharing your great knowledge with the world and with the detail that is often not found with other sources. You do a great job. And remember, 99.9% of people with negative comments or vocal critisms have no idea what they're talking about!
Thanks man The haters aren't a big concern of mine.
MileHighReefers ah. Perfect!
I’m from the freshwater side of the hobby but I found this really informative and a well done video. Thanks!
Yea we Marine users really don't appreciate fresh water people chiming in on our turf. So if you don't mind could you show your self out the back door. Thanks.
I have did an experiment years ago on my last reef tank (I have moved but will set one up again after I move) with my own natural method and ran it for 10 years successfully then the last before I moved I finally lost some fish and corals all but just before the 10 year was the blue hippo tang (I had like 15 originally of them) and the Red Sea purple tang with the yellow tail. I had all sorts of fish at any time 50-70 fish in a 125 gallon tank :) and corals a lot of them :) I didn't do water changes other than adding water to replace the water that would be evaporated :) The key is hundreds of pounds of show pieces of live rock and high volume flow from my two very high volume IWAKI pump, high light, and had a UV sterilizer on it too :) but no skimmer in the pump a miracle mud mixed with an off brand miracle mud with aragonite too and live rocks too on top of that in the sump
great video - thanks - loads of practical info about water chemistry. And I think you are right - the goal is to get the water and ecosystem balanced and self-maintaining without water changes
That's amazing. I am on the other extreme doing weekly water changes, but I don't have anywhere near the setup that you do.
Great video Scott! Want to take the no water change plunge, but it's a bit scary. Keep up the awesome work.
I looooooove this video. It’s true with my experience as well. I almost never do water changes. I have the same, full bucket of salt now for about 2 years considering the fact that I have a 55 gallon tank.
Compared to a few years ago when I did water changes weekly, using up my bucket in a year.
Great video. ❤️❤️👍🏼
Can you help more of how to do this
Great Video. Thank you !
Outstanding video!
Your tank is so pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty yes it is pretty I love your tank thank you for sharing it with us keep up the good work my friend
This is a great video. I have a 10 gallon nano and I noticed my corals and fish hate when I do water changes. My corals love dirty water. SO I only do a water change every 2 weeks or 3.
Very good video! I have had several birdnest die offs while using bio pellets. I never associated the addition of new pellets with it, but looking back I feel that may be the answer :)
Thanks for sharing
In my experiment with a good ats I have removed my skimmer and any kind of mechanical filtration. Ats are so 👍
Amazing breakdown, I'm becoming a big fan lol.
Thanks its much appreciated.
Loved this ,,,, made so much sense
I don’t think you’re crazy. I totally agree with you. My fish look amazing on my 135 gal reef fish only saltwater tank. I haven’t done a water changer in over five years. Big oversized sump protein Skimmer and top off. All I do is add supplements and fill the top off that’s it. Also it’s good to not over feed a lot of folks tend to do that. Thumbs up and Cheers from California!
Sorry for asking. What do you mean with ' top off' ?
Great info!
Awesome video, I carbon dose with big skimmer in a sumpless system with no water changes and it worked for the past 3 years for me.
Jason McClough I reef the same way (sump less). No water changes system makes sense to me although I'm not quite there yet. What carbon dosing method r u using? I'm dosing NOPOX by Red Sea. Moreover, r u keeping sps?
The best part of listening to this,
How can u not believe it with that amazing tank right there.
Love to see you try that on a 10 gal or less. With a 210 or the ocean there is just so much water mass that you can get away with no water changes.
great info. glad I'm subscribed to your channel. its very entertaining as well as informative. thanks
Thanks! I really appreciate it.
i carbon dose and i love it. gotta keep an eye on cal alk and mag though. I also really like using gfo.
This guy is the truth I been doing this for over 20 yrs an what he said works . It’s just the same thing I do . Keep it simple an don’t over do nothing . As natural as it can be 👍
EXCELLENT ADVISE!!! Right on point for those who have large SW aquarium! I finally find someone who does exactly what I do!. Never do water changes (except to fill my quarantine tank), keep values, treat the water, dose it! I must ONLY ADD that once a month (I try) I clean the sand, stir it, suck the detritus w/water into an exterior container, let it sit for a while, and pump back the water over a strainer that has a filters and voila! ...DON"T DO WATER CHANGES!!!
Amen to that man. I have a 125 gallon with 2 canister filters. Closest thing to water changes I do is replace evaporation with r o water.
Hi Mike subbed to your channel...great info...and yes like you i was one of the reefer who watched newyorksteelo's videos all the time...hope he comes back to the hobby again..
Info was great. I want to start a 125 gallon because of all the colors I seen in coral.
i'm new salt water hobbyist i jumped in the game feb 2017 . learned a lot today i never new much about . I have tiny tank 75 gallon compared to your its tiny . learned alot in 10 months few bumps managed to only lose 2 fish 1 cyno out break and the fish i lost one decided it be awesome to swim upstream in my out put water flow .. i had the 75 gallon tank resting in my basement 15 years i had given up freshwater fish never got rid of the tank . any way I LIKE THE TURF Scrubber will research it more i waited 3 month to add my first fish now only have
about 12 clown Gobi green ,citron ,tang variety of harptails and the elusive lawn mower goby any how hoping to start corals after the first of the year Tidal Gardens is local to me i could litterly throw rock at his place i'm that close . he seems to get rave reviews .Awesome video chalk full of tips loved it you rock
Totally agree. I don’t do any water change on my 120g. Great video.
As usual great video Scott crammed with a lot of awesome information. I would love to send mine to Triton as well to get a complete water analysis. I missed your little guy doing his outro...lol
The little guy was in school when I made this video. He loves to be on the show. We have a company in Denver that does ICP testing, I need to get over there and check them out.
Nutrient talk... my fav :) And yes... baby your water!
Amazing!! Great vid!!
Dang you just blew my mind!!! 😱😱😱
20min vid! Watching while I eat dinner 👍🏽
Thanks! this one was a lot of work.
I really appreciate the video. I am researching a 400 gallon see through when you walk in our house near the dinning room and know I won't be doing 60 gallon trash can water changes regularly. I will be on a massive budget doing it and will be going with a high quality tank1,000-1500$, skimmer450$, mp40's with backup 800$, solatube natural lighting 600$, and the rest DIY like oyster diy rock, natural local sand, I have access to collecting local macroalgae luckily but really liked your video and the insight on keeping water quality in check. Things have changed alot from the 2000 era and I really like the idea of having a set of quality carbon and calcium reactors that are DIY. Dosing via peristalic pumps seem to be legit as well. Being in Florida I have considered a carribean tank as we surf and snorkel a lot not to mention have access to things like seahorses, pinktail trigger, pipefish etc, live bait shrimp, etc. All told I will be into it for around 10k which is really a fret considering the size and 550 gallon capacity. I just wanted to share some ideas and you've got me thinking about raceways and how to capitilze on a working refugium and limiting stoney coral to those that take less calcium and alkalinity thus making it easier. I wanted to write this to anybody considering a large DIY tank without breaking the bank or having the misses kick you out. Nice work on the four clownish in tank and killer clam, that thing is stunning.
Maria Edwards don't collect fish from the wild it's really had for the environment and the fishll die when u put em in the tank anyways cuz they might carry diseases and pathogens from the ocean and not adapt as well to tank living this is why everybody is getting captive bred fish this goes especially for seahorses seahorses, cardinals are the worst fish to collect from the wild they won't adapt and when u put em in they'll get stressed and will suffer from disease and die most epic the time and just waste away end of story don't collect fish from the wild
Great video!
I have a 90gal SW with a 40gal sump. And I do a 15gal water change about every two weeks. But what helps me with keeping everything stable is purchasing good salt and fresh water from my LFS. In addition, I have about 5 lbs of ceramic media bio balls in the sump along with a skimmer. I also converted a canister filter into a media reactor.
agree on your points. im starting on a carbon dosing routine myself. water changes are to pricey for me as well
its only a 180 plus the sump/fuge. thinking small w/c weekly maybe 2% (about 5 gallons). kicking my fuge up a bit with a better light. and carbon dose. of course ive got the skimmer going. and will be dosing a small amount of kalk in form of a dripper. just got to get those nitrates down. maybe down the road put a small turf scrubber on it if needed. keep up the great videos
Fantastic video scott love all the information 👍🏻👍🏻(my copperband is still doing great eating every type of frozen food i offer it )
Thanks! I'm so glad the CBB is doing so well.
I’m doing something similar. 50 gallon tank. Live rock with sand bead . 30 gallon sump with refugium. With two blocks of Marin pure. 1 gallon of Marin pure balls. And dosing. So far I’m 2 months with no water changes and coral is doing better now than before. I think the point of you saying when water changes are done it does a quick change to the water that affect the coral is true. Thanks for video.
Nice info !!
I love my Natureef inspired Methanol Denitrator! Much less maintenance than Bio Pellets, and turf scrubbers. I have too many fish and feed 3x a day, and dialed in my Nitrates at 2.5. A very unknown method to many still. I have ran mine for 14 years. I went 6 years with 0 water changes, but now do 1 gal a day with my DOS AWC for the "unknowns", and my SPS are a little happier.
tank looking great
Awesome great info
Thanks!
This guy give a great talk, he's very real....talks well, and answers a lot of questions most want to know.
Great video
Very interesting I'm doing less and less water changes and my tank seems to be doing better and better
Top Notch video Scott, great job!
Thanks!
@@MileHighReefers hey man finally got a video up. If you remember I'm here in Colorado also. Would like to get a better video with your cameras and such. Here is just a little something of it now it's only been set up for a year. ruclips.net/video/mokQ4ohI0VQ/видео.html
Nice video with some good information :)
I feel the same way! although i have a planted fresh water tank. but now i am going to start a saltwater tank
I'm running on 2 years with no water changes. Working great for me so far!
Nothing to brag about
what do you use to measure your nitrates?
I have never NEEDED to do a water change. About twice a year, I change the scenery around and that could qualify as a 50% water change. Never been a problem if you have a decent biofilter system
Gr8 stuff thanks
current research shows a waterfall style algal mat scrubber does not need to be nearly as big as everyone thinks it needs to be. The old rule of thumb was 2 square inches of mat for every gallon of tank water. Now, its rated with the amount of food you feed into the tank. I have been using them for over 6 years on 2 120 gallon tanks with zero ppm nitrates...each mat is 1 sq. foot, lit on both sides, and was made out of 1" pvc pipe coming directly from the overflows...down into the sump, and then returned. i use carbon to clear the water, and i harvest the algae once a week. NO algae in the actual tank...ever!!!
Awesome video!
Thanks!
Everyone said my dad was neglecting me by not changing my diapers, but I came out fine.
Rofl
For my 90 gallon reef, I’m only using the Nynos 160 protein skimmer along with a Bio Pellet reactor, which my tank is super healthy.
I only add daily top off water and that’s it.
William Rose so all you need is a slimmer and a bio pellet reactor to reduce water changes?
Very clean, how often do you clean that glass? Cant you add a dosing pump as well as the carbon reactor.? Also what are you dosing for the micro nutrients? Thanks for break down very informative.
Great video Scott. You covered it all. I recently transitioned off of Carbon dosing and am currently running Santa Monica Turf scrubbers in both of my tanks. Working Fantastic! You going with Kalk a bigger Ca Reactor or dosing to keep up with your alk drop????
Right now I have the PH turned down to 6.3 and a high drip rate and my ALK is holding 8.7. Fingers crossed this will be enough to get me where I want to be.
So the ps2 skimmer for my fluval evo...is worth putting it in .... Will it help
Great video Scott, I’m in the process of doing up a video on my tank. I’m doing fine with alkalinity calcium and magnesium but struggle with nitrates lol
I can't wait to see your tank!
What about if you didn't want to do icp testing. Do you have any recommendations for dosing TRACE elements?
I'm about to start my first reef tank. It's the new fluval sea flex 32.5 gallon tank and I was wondering how I'd connect a turf scrubber to it? Would I have to pump water out and then back into it?
Loved the vid. But my question is what about salinity? My tanks evaporate so fast by the time a week comes around I’ve added at least a quarter to half the tank of RO. So my salinity drops. Any ideas or answers would be useful. I’m still trying to figure the whole saltwater elements and stuff out. How to keep them in check and also the best ways to keep my tank stable and what filtration to exactly use.
Quick question: in my 55 gallon system with little to no corals and 1 fish, that is currently running on 1.3 mls of vodka per day and sitting at 20ish nitrates which has been lower since the start of the dosing. Should I do massive water changes to get my nitrates down? Would that be something considered sensible?
I used an AquariPure denitrator (vodka dosing). Worked awesome. Almost undetectable levels of nitrates, and that 60g tank was LOADED with fish and corals. Never did a water change in 2 years then I moved and had to sell the whole lot.
I also had a lot of live rock in it, and sand bed.
Bro awesome video as always keep up the great work
Thanks man!
MileHighReefers anytime bro
I also gave up doing water changes 6 months ago and my sps and soft corals are doing well in my 100g. I don't do RODI just filtrate the water with a carbon filter during 2h before i do my 6g water change every 2 months. I run a phos reactor and full of live rocks in my sump
Hi Scott...the Triton method is a system designed around the no water change needed concept...not just ICP testing...it is a complete and effective system...give it a complete look ...love your tank as always..
Its so tempting to go this rout :)
The only time I do water changes in any of my tanks is the once a year I typically redo the inside of the tank to whatever theme I think will look good. It’s mostly just top offs
How do you deal with the rising TDS? Or have you found it does no harm? I know it's just a number... but a reading of 1000 means there's 1000 of something in there. 3 months without water changes, my tank went from 140 to 300. Just curious. I would love to do no water changes. My shrimp almost die every time I do one.
Great video. just wanted to add that a refugium will be a huge positive effect for zooplantkon which will be awesome food for Fish and corals. I personally will go with a refugium and alcohol for my next tank. But there won't be that many fish in it anyway.
Refugiums have a lot of great benefits there defiantly the way to go for lots of people.
Do you use RODI water to top off your tank?
Very nice
i have a 32g biocube mixed reef. i haven't done a water change in that tank yet at all. its been up for about 16 months. i have a 16 gallon sump, small small skimmer, a gfo reactor, 25 lbs of sand, 35 lbs of rock, a handfull of bioballs, a small fuge with cheato and pods, dose calcium and alk, an auto top off and a clean up crew. now, its been doing great. but, recently, i hadnt removed some bubble algae that i saw in a small colony, instead, i decided id add 2 emerald crabs. well, a week later when i returned home, i had an infestation of bubble algae. so needless to say, ill probably just save up a bit and buy a new reefer 250 delux and transfer the coral and fish over without the rocks. or sand. kind of a start over. the 32g was cool. but im out of room for anything to grow out. and now this bubble algae bloom.....
Great video - I have a comment. I have been using bio pellets for about 2 years now. My nitrates and phosphates are undetectable - I don't do water changes either, why should I? Here's my comment: (and a little about my system so my comment makes sense)
I have a 180 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump and my protein skimmer (reef octopus 200) is rated for 400 gallons (200 if you are over stocked which I am). My protein skimmer hardly skims anything out of my water though. I could turn it off but I like the fact that it oxygenates the water. (Don't need it is what I am saying - read on)
I have 100 micron filter socks for each corner flow ( 2 of them) they each have their own sock. I change the filter socks every day. I also use a waste away bacteria weekly (keeps my water crystal clear and breaks down waste). No nitrates or phosphates (undetectable) and I'm over stocked and I over feed - because it's fun lol! My point is I don't think a protein skimmer is necessary.....WHAT?....Everyone says you have to have a protein skimmer to carbon dose and remove nitrates, but my giant protein skimmer has nothing to do.
The bacteria I use and the 100 micron filter socks do all the work. My protein skimmer I'd argue is only oxygenating my water. I should add that I have 100lbs of live rock, and a sand bed (it's not deep tho I tried that and wasn't thrilled) and I use bio pellets (lots of them tho - my reactor is filled to the top and I have a large reactor. I put an entire jar of bio pellets in there and I buy the large jar) So, we are different in that aspect.
I believe my filter socks solve my slough off issue from the pellets. My pellet reactor return goes to one one of my filter socks stopping the gunk from going into my tank. All I am saying is that I have a system that a protein skimmer isn't necessary and I have a skimmer that runs 24/7 and doesn't do anything to prove it. My nitrate and phosphate levels speak for themselves and I think I am about to turn the tables on the protein skimmer belief. Live rock, bacteria to dissolve waste, bio pellets (carbon dosing), filter socks changed daily - NO PROTEIN SKIMMER NECESSARY. Could this be? Am I about to be told it isn't possible? Lol - it is. Trust me I am doing it. No water changes for over a year and a protein skimmer that doesn't have anything to do.
I don't want to encourage people that cant afford a protein skimmer (a good one) to get into this hobby because if you don't have an extra 1k lying around this isn't a hobby for you, but I am saying it is possible to have a system where a protein skimmer (using bio pellets) isn't necessary. I've had my aquarium for 12 years now (time to upgrade) and it wasn't until the last 2 years that I advanced to "advanced" from intermediate. I will never consider myself an expert - I am always learning. I learned something that nobody else has brought up though. I learned it by "it" happening.
Have you considered putting your bio pellet return into a filter sock and using a higher dose? Changing your socks every day is important if you do this because they can clog and over flow quickly - hence me changing them daily.
Do you use a waste away bacteria?
If you start you might see your protein skimmer go on vacation - mine has yet to return lol.
My socks are dirty every day too....dirty.
I would write a book about it but I just did lol!
Can you make a video , which explain the things better
Then turn off the protein skimmer and test out your theory?
Thank you for the advice. Doing water changes every week is difficult to do consistently for my schedule. would a turf scrubber be reasonable for a 55gallon tank?
Meagan Brink yep anything over 200g is expensive and bulky to run turf on refugiums work for u too since 55g isnt big refugiums needing to be sized at 12% minmum of total water vol so a 6.5 gallon refugiums with a AI prime FUGE works perfectly and might be better then turf
@@tomthebomb3189 OKAY thank you for the advice. i had planned on a refugium, because it seems cool anyways. i like the looks of the macro algea :)
Could you please expand on turf scrubbers as I can't understand what I should buy lol any recommendations?
Nice video
I don’t have a calcium reactor so I have to also dose micro and macro elements from time to time and have my water professionally tested to see what is excessive and what is lacking.
How often do you clean the glass?
Great video. I'm still wondering how the waste and how the system balances itself. Must be the filtration in the rock? But then, how about feeding and phosphates?